Site Profile
Administrative Record Index (All, PDF): OU1 (4 pp., 96K), OU3 (5 pp., 337K)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office (http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/submit.htm).

Site Background:
The Weyerhaeuser Company Martin County facility is an active wood and paper products manufacturing facility located on State Road 1565 in Martin County, North Carolina. Weyerhaeuser Company has been the owner/operator of this facility since 1957, when the company merged with the Kieckhefer-Eddy Company, which began operations at the facility in 1937. The facility is located on about 2,400 acres near the confluence of Welch Creek and the Roanoke River, about 1.5 miles from the Town of Plymouth and approximately 7 miles upstream from Albemarle Sound. The areas of the plant which are being investigated are the Former Chlorine Production Plant, which has resulted in soil and groundwater contamination with Mercury, the Former Landfill 1, where mercury cells from the Chlorine Production Plant were placed, and Welch Creek, which has received pre-permitted discharge of wastewater.

Weyerhaeuser is no longer the owner of the Plymouth Mill. In March 2007, Domtar Corporation became the new owner of the facility.

Cleanup Progress: Remedial Action Completed for Operable Unit 1 and Operable Unit 3. Remedy Selected for Operable Unit 4 and Operable Unit 2.
Weyerhaeuser has performed investigation at several separate areas (Operable Units) at the Site and completed cleanups at two of these areas. EPA has provided oversight of these activities.

A cleanup method was selected for dioxin contaminated sediment in certain stretches of the bed of Welch Creek (Operable Unit 4). The selected remedy, Alternative 3, includes placement of a thin layer of sand over the contaminated sediment as well as long term maintenance and monitoring of the remedy. Fish consumption advisories will continue until the State of North Carolina guidelines have been met. Deed restrictions at the Weyerhaeuser property and institutional controls will also be used where appropriate.

The selected remedy for Welch Creek is further described in the Record of Decision (ROD) which was signed on September 26, 2007. The ROD and other site-related documents are available for public review at the information repository located at the Washington County Public Library in Plymouth.
EPA and Domtar Corporation have recently signed a Consent Decree for the Remedial Design/Remedial Action for Welch Creek (Operable Unit 4). The Consent Decree is a legal document which commits Domtar Corporation to perform the design and construction of the remedy. The design of the remedy may be completed during 2009.

EPA issued a Proposed Plan in July 2008 for Operable Unit Two (Lower Roanoke River) which focused on different long term monitoring plans. A public comment period was held between July 12 to August 11 and a public meeting was held on July 17. EPA's preferred alternative is Alternative 3: Monitored Natural Recovery. There were no comments received during the comment period. EPA expects to sign a Record of Decision by the end of September selecting Alternative 3 as the remedy.

Conditions in the area have generally been improving over the last 10 to 15 years. Fish dioxin levels have been declining since the mid-1990s. In October 2001, the State's fish consumption advisory for dioxin was lifted for sport fish. The fish consumption advisory due to dioxin in catfish and carp is still in effect (there is a fish consumption advisory for mercury in all State waters as of 2006). However, dioxin in catfish has been declined by tenfold or more during the last 10-15 years. Dioxin in wood duck eggs has declined by almost five fold since the mid 1990s. Also, previous studies had indicated that mercury levels in wood duck eggs were well below levels expected to cause adverse effects.

The selected remedy for Operable Unit 1(former Landfill #1) was issued in June 2002 and called for installation of a geotextile and soil cover on the landfill which is about 82 acres in size. Long term monitoring of groundwater and soil along the adjacent wetlands is also part of the remedy. The construction of this project began in late April 2005 and was completed in December 2005.

The selected remedy for Operable Unit 3 (the former Chlorine Plant area) was issued in September 2003 and called for the installation of sheet pile or grout to surround and contain mercury contaminated soil. In addition, a small volume of some mercury contaminated soil was targeted for excavation and disposal. Long term groundwater monitoring was included as part of this remedy.

The construction of the remedy began in March 2006 and was completed in August 2006.

For information about the contents of this page please contact Donna Bledsoe

North Carolina NPL/NPL Caliber Cleanup Site Summaries

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